Most influential: Joe Nowak
IF YOU need proof that the past year was dominated by regulatory and industry issues, look no further than Joe Nowak.
Nowak, who finished a two-year tenure as president of the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) earlier this month, is one of three industry association leaders considered one of this year’s most influential.
Unlike the FPA’s Ken Breakspear and IFSA’s Richard Gilbert however, Nowak has a distinctly lower profile.
That is not a criticism; the AFA is, after all, run on a shoestring compared to the other two associations.
However at the height of the crisis this year over professional indemnity insurance for financial planners, it was the AFA that managed to negotiate an arrangement with an insurer to provide indemnity cover to a syndicate of its members.
The deal was by no means an all-encompassing solution to the crisis, but it was a beacon of hope at a time when many advisers were facing increases in insurance premiums of up to 300 per cent.
It is no wonder then that the AFA’s membership jumped by over 100 in the last year — no mean feat given that the AFA, made up mostly of older life insurance advisers, might be seen as struggling for relevance.
Much of that increase will have to do with Nowak’s inimitable style.
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